Characterization of coatings on magnetic metal using the swept-frequency eddy current method

A measurement technique using the swept-frequency eddy current (SFEC) method for determining the thickness, conductivity, and permeability of metallic coatings on metal substrates for the case when either coating, substrate, or both are magnetic was developed. This technique involved using the empirically determined permeability of the metals as input to the model calculation. This technique is demonstrated for nickel layers (25-200 μm) over copper substrates, copper layers (25-200 μm) over nickel substrates, and zinc layers (50-400 μm) over steel substrates. The electrical impedance was measured for air-core coils in the presence and absence of the layer using a 4194A Hewlett-Packard impedance analyzer. An analytic closed-form solution for calculating the impedance of a cylindrical air-core probe over a layered metallic half-space is presented. The determination of coating thickness and conductivity and permeability of the metals is based on the comparison of the data taken with air-core coils and theoretical calculation that using the closed-form solution developed. Most of the cases studied show experiment and theory agreeing fairly well, within 10%, with no adjustable parameters. The physical phenomena of eddy currents interaction with the coated magnetic metals are also discussed.